Mark English on the World Championships as his Rio preparation rolls on

His season is coming to a close, but after a dazzling few days on the World stage, Mark English can reflect on another giant step in his athletics career as the Olympics loom closer.

After losing two medical school classmates in a tragic accident in the United States, overcoming injury and dodgy form with some electric performances in the last few weeks, 2015 has been a testing year for the Sky Academy Scholar.

But impressing in a strong field in the 800m semis and shining in the relay with Irish team-mates Brian Gregan, Brian Murphy and Thomas Barr at the World Championships has ensured the 22-year-old will head to Zurich for the Diamond League to wrap up the summer campaign in good spirits.

As he travelled back from China, Mark reflected on his efforts inside the Bird's Nest Stadium and the summer season as he starts to think about swapping his spikes for his study books again, along with a rather big event coming up in Brazil. 

The World Championships are over and I've been on my long flight home to Ireland.

So much has happened in the last few weeks and overall it has been a great experience. One I will never forget.

We finished on a high with our 4 x 400m relay team breaking our own national record with a final time of 3 minutes 1.26 seconds. This gave us a placing of 13th overall in the world which keeps us right on track to qualify an Irish team for the Rio Olympics in 2016 for the first time ever.  

I was more than happy with my own anchor leg in the relay recording the fastest split time of 44.96s. We may not have made the final but it was without a doubt the most competitive 4x 400m competition I've ever competed in.

We ran in the toughest heat (against the USA, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago) and our time would have finished sixth in the 2012 London Olympics.

Few understand just how high the standard really is. Considering there were only five teams in Europe who managed to qualify for these Championships, it is not a bad achievement for a small country like Ireland.

It's fantastic to be part of a team, as most of the time athletes compete as individuals and it can often be lonely and isolating.

The camaraderie between all six members of our relay team was both motivating and encouraging. The banter between competition was a welcome relief from the stress of competing.

Overall, the event was a fantastic and entertaining spectacle with 10 continental records and over 70 national records broken throughout the Championships in Beijing.

I witnessed the second longest triple jump of all time when Christian Taylor of the USA fell just 8cm short of Jonathan Edwards' 20-year-old world record.

I saw Julius Yego from Kenya become the third furthest javelin thrower in history, while South Africa's Wayde van Niekerk became the fourth fastest man in 400m history. These were some truly amazing spectacles of sporting prowess. 

Now for me, it is time to change hats and become a student again and return to my own Bird's Nest!  

I will have to unpack, then pack again for my fourth year of medical studies back in Dublin.  

Stories will be exchanged and I'll be looking forward to catching up with my classmates as they come home from their visit to America.

All in all, the summer has been stressful, encouraging and exciting in equal doses. But it is exactly the experience that will help me when Rio comes around next year! 

WHAT'S COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS...

SEPTEMBER 1-6: Lucy Garner - Holland Ladies Tour

SEPTEMBER 3: Mark English and Holly Bradshaw - Zurich Diamond League

SEPTEMBER 6-14: Jack Bateson - Feliks Stamn boxing tournament, Poland